President Barack Obama: Background Checks

Obama Dept: WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama urged a reluctant Congress on Wednesday to require background checks for all gun sales and ban both military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines in an emotion-laden plea to curb gun violence in America, though he acknowledged he's in for an uphill battle, according to Winnipeg Free Press. Seeking to circumvent at least some opposition, Obama signed 23 executive actions on Wednesday, including orders to make more federal data available for background checks and end a freeze on government research on gun violence. But he acknowledged that the steps he took on his own would have less impact than the broad measures requiring approval from Congress and jimmy Greene, left, kisses his wife Nelba Marquez-Greene as he holds a portrait of their daughter, Sandy Hook School shooting victim Ana Marquez-Greene at a news conference at Edmond Town Hall in Newtown, Conn., Monday, Jan. 14, 2013. One month after the mass school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the parents joined a grassroots initiative called Sandy Hook Promise to support solutions for a safer community. AP Photo/Jessica Hill The president's sweeping, $500 million plan, coming one month after the school massacre in Connecticut, marks the most comprehensive effort to tighten gun laws in nearly two decades. But his proposals, most of which are opposed by the powerful National Rifle Association and its allies in Washington, face a doubtful future in a divided Congress where Republicans control the House of Representaives. Related Items Articles White House calls for research on effect of media, video games in gun violence Assassins relevant amid endless gun violence (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.